U.S. to Shift Afghan Strategy

By

Yaroslav Trofimov and

Adam Entous

Dec. 16, 2012 7:50 p.m. ET

KABUL—The U.S. military in Afghanistan is shifting its focus next year from fighting the Taliban to advising and enabling Afghan forces, senior U.S. officials say, noting that this could allow sizable cuts in the 66,000-strong U.S. troop contingent over the spring and the summer.

The coalition's commander, U.S. Marine Gen. John Allen, just a few months ago pushed for maintaining U.S. troop levels steady through the 2013 fighting season, which runs until November or so. Some White House officials, however, have been...